Soul Survivors
by NoctisintheNight
Summary: The Aizen incident and the fullbring incident are both over but a cataclysmic event causes major disruption in the world of Bleach. Now, a new group must fight to save the world they know from darkness. Taking OCs!
1. Prologue

Soul Survivors

Well readers of fanfiction, here I am with my first attempt at a Bleach story. This story is going to take place a long time after the final fight between Aizen and Ichigo, so there will be spoilers for those of you who have yet to see that epic showdown, though I will be making small changes, which I will mention but should be pretty obvious. I AM WARNING YOU OF THIS NOW! Also, I plan on including the Fullbring Arc in my story as well. This is not in the anime and, since Tite Kubo has yet to finish this arc, I will be adding some of my own ideas to what happens in it. One final thing, I will also be adding an Arc after the Fullbring one to make the transition to this story easier. So, with that out of the way, here is the story.

Prologue

No matter what side of war you are on, you are never truly the victor. Blood is shed, bones are broken, flesh is stripped, and lives are lost. Casualties are the most most defining thing within a war. Those who wish to avoid fighting are dragged into the carnage, while those who live to fight and kill suffer an insatiable thirst to continue fighting even when the conflict is over. Death is the only real victor.

Soul Reapers know this better than anyone, for their job is an everlasting war against Hollows and any threat against humanity or the Soul Society. Yet still they plunge forward with their task into the jaws of death itself. The worst time in the history of the Soul Society had all started with a Soul Reaper by the name of Sosuke Aizen.

Through many years of plotting, experimenting, and betrayal, Aizen had finally obtained the item he had searched far and wide for. It was the one item that could make his most incredible wishes come to life, the Hogyoku, created by the only man who could ever challenge his intellect and come out on top, Kisuke Urahara. He then went to Hueco Mundo, the land of the Hollows, and created many powerful Arrancar while setting up his base of operations. To completely awaken the Hogyoku, he captured Orihime Inoue to force her to restore it to its full potential. While Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions traveled to Hueco Mundo to rescue Orihime, Aizen launched an attack on Karakura Town with his top three Arrancar in order to obtain the Oken, the key to get to the Soul King. However, he was confronted by Head Captain Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and his small army in a Fake Karakura Town created by Kisuke. The battles were long and arduous. Although they received assistance from the Vizards and all of Aizen's forces, except him and Gin Ichimaru, were defeated, the army from the Soul Society was defeated by Aizen and their leader, Yamamoto, was killed as he sacrificed himself to try and kill Aizen (Yamamoto doesn't die in the anime or manga, but in here, he will have died from casting the Hado spell #96, Itto Kaso. It's nothing personal against Yamamoto, but it helps with this story's plot). As Aizen began to "evolve" from the Hogyoku's powers, he was confronted by Kisuke Urahara, Yoroichi Shihoin, and Isshin Kurosaki while Ichigo battled Gin. Aizen's new evolved form proved to be too strong and allowed him to easily beat back his opponents as the transformation finished. He and Gin then proceeded to the Real Karakura Town. There, Aizen transformed yet again and Gin revealed that he was still in opposition to Aizen and had merely been acting as Aizen's loyal ally. Sadly, his plan to kill Aizen failed and was cut down by Aizen. Then Ichigo, after training in the Dangai (an area where time flows differently), appears and challenges Aizen with his newly obtained strength. Ichigo easily overpowers Aizen until the Hogyoku gives him one last transformation. Ichigo is forced to use his last resort, the Final Getsuga Tenshou, which will cause Ichigo to lose all his Soul Reaper powers after the battle. With one attack, Aizen is felled and forced into his original form, but Ichigo loses his Soul Reaper powers before he can deliver the finishing blow. Luckily, Kisuke had planted a trap in Aizen which causes Aizen and the Hogyoku to be sealed away. Afterwards, Ichigo goes back as a normal human and can't even see spirits anymore while the Soul Society recovers and Jushiro Ukitake becomes the new Head Captain (Again, this is me adding something since Yamamoto didn't die in the anime/manga). Orihime also heals the arrancars Tia Harribel, Coyote Starrk, and Grimmjow Jaegarjaquez, as they were the only arrancars to have survived the battle. All returned to Hueco Mundo with Tia helping Starrk out after losing Lilynette Gingerbuck and Grimmjow going off on his own (In the anime/manga, Tia and her entire fraccion are healed by Orihime, Starrk is dead, and Grimmjow's status remained unknown. Once again, this is me changing things around. My reasons: I hate Tia's fraccion, these three will be important later on, and these are my three favorite arrancar).

Seventeen months later, Ichigo meets and helps out a seemingly random person named Kugo Ginjo. Kugo later reveals himself to be the leader of a group called Xcution, a group of humans with Fullbring powers. Those with Fullbring powers are revealed to have had mothers who were attacked by a hollow before the person was born and retains part of the Hollow's powers. They are able to manipulate the soul of an object around them, including the land, water, or even air. Kugo also reveals that Chad is a Fullbring human as well as Ichigo. Ichigo then agrees to let the Xcution members train him in the use of his Fullbring powers. At first, all he can manifest is black reiatsu in the form a tsuba, the pattern that appears as the guard for Ichigo's sword in Bankai form. After training some more, he obtains a second form where the black reiatsu covers his entire body as a cloak and can be wielded in a sword form as well. Finally, after training even more, Ichigo gains his Fullbring's true form: he now wears a black bodysuit covered by white armor. A white bandage-like stripe runs across his face and he now wields a short sword which hangs across his back. During Ichigo's training, he is alerted to a new villain by the name of Tsukishima, who is also a Fullbring human and the former leader of Xcution. By using his Fullbring's ability, Tsukishima tricks all of Ichigo's human friends. Because of their confusion, Chad and Orihime help Tsukishima when he fights Ichigo while Kugo is forced to fight his old comrades. After he gets hit by Tsukishima's ability, Kugo reveals that he was already affected by Tsukishima's ability and that being hit by it a second time negated the effect of it on him. Then Kugo and the rest of the Xcution group turn traitor on Ichigo and steal his Fullbring powers, using his to increase their own. Before anything else can happen, Kisuke and Ichigo's dad arrive on the scene and Ichigo is impaled by a blade from behind. When Ichigo looks behind him, he surprisingly sees that Rukia, now as a lieutenant, was the one who stabbed him. As Ichigo emerges from the resulting explosion as a Soul Reaper with an altered Zangetsu, Rukia explains that the sword she stabbed him with was an invention of Kisuke's and it allowed her to bring back Ichigo's powers. Kugo interrupts and states that Rukia's reiatsu alone would not be enough to bring back Ichigo's powers. However, Renji Abarai, Byakuya Kuchiki, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Ikkaku Madarame, and Kenpachi Zaraki arrived through a Senkaimon and explain that, under the orders of the Head Captain, all captains and lieutenants were to put some of their reitsu into the blade to get Ichigo's powers back in order to repay him for all he had done for the Soul Society. Then Yukio, one of Kugo's accomplices, locks all of them in game rooms with his Fullbring ability to start the final fight. Rukia, Renji, Ikkaku, Kenpachi, and Toshiro all have relatively easy fights against their opponents. Byakuya, facing Tsukishima, has a much harder time but manages to win. Ichigo uses his newly regained powers along with some assisstance from Uryu to defeat Kugo Ginjo, end the Fullbring menace, and regain his own Fullbring powers (While it is true that Ichigo fights Kugo alongside Uryu, I have no idea how exactly the Fullbring arc ends as Tite Kubo has not finished it yet).

**(This is where I will end all anime/manga relations for this story. Anything below and beyond this line is all my creation).**

Ten years later, many things have changed. One thing that has changed majorly is Ichigo. Though he still has the same Ichigo personality, he has taken up his responsibility as a Soul Reaper and decided to move into the Seireitei and become a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. He took Ukitake's position as Captain of Squad Thirteen with Rukia still as lieutenant and relearned how to use Bankai, doing it the traditional way this time. Due to Karin's growing spiritual powers, Ichigo felt confident enough in entrusting her with protecting the family (Even with Isshin's returned powers, Ichigo would still never trust his dad with guarding the family). With help from Rukia and Kisuke, Karin even released her powers and is now the Substitute Soul Reaper in charge of Karakura Town since Zennosuke Kurumadani is still all but useless. Yuzu is just starting to be able to sense spirits as well. Both Kisuke and Yoruichi were offered the chance of going back to the Soul Society and gain two of the remaining captain seats, but both turned the offer down. Kisuke still runs his little "candy store," but now lives there with Yoruichi as his wife (much to Soifon's disbelief). Ichigo also finally mustered up the courage to ask Rukia out and the two finally started dating. Realizing that Ichigo loved Rukia instead of her, Orihime finally moves on and started dating Uryu. Chad continues being Chad. Two years after the Fullbring arc, the Soul Reapers received a surprise visit in the human world from four high-level arrancars and two mid-class arrancars. Ichigo, Rukia, Byakuya, and Renji were sent to handle the matter. On arrival, Ichigo was nearly hugged to death by Neliel tu Oderschvank in her adult form. The other three arrancar turn out to be Tia, Starrk, and Grimmjow while the mid-class arrancars were Neliel's fraccion, Pesche and Dondochakka. Nel explains that Tia and Starrk found her and helped restore her powers and adult form. Assuming the position of group leader, Tia then continues to explain how none of them really felt at home in Hueco Mundo anymore and that she and Starrk, without their subordinates to watch over and protect, were not sure what to do with their lives and Neliel really wanted to see "Itsygo" again. They also wanted to make amends to Soul Society for the part they played in Aizen's scheme. Grimmjow, on the other hand, was there simply because he begrudgingly admitted that he owed Ichigo his life and also wanted to fight Ichigo once again. So, to simplify things, they all wanted to live in Soul Society. Rukia contacts Ukitake on the subject and Ukitake agrees to at least see them. All go to the Soul Society. After meeting with the arrancar and conversing with all the captains, Head Captain Ukitake decided that Tia Harribel would become Captain of Squad Three after learning from Toshiro, Coyote Starrk would become Captain of Squad Nine after learning from Shunsui Kyoraku, Neliel Tu Oderschvank would become Captain of Squad Five after learning from Sajin Komamura, and Grimmjow would become the Third Seat Officer under Ichigo Kurosaki. Over the next few years, the arrangement worked out surprisingly well. Tia, Starrk, and Neliel were quite good at their jobs and they all got along relatively well with each of their lieutenants. The only time some incidents occured were when Grimmjow challenged Ichigo or Kenpachi challenged Grimmjow.

Sadly, the peace didn't last long. Zangetsu had given Ichigo an ominous warning after the Fullbring incident. Zangetsu had told him that, due to the aftereffects of the Final Getsuga Tenshou, Ichigo's inner hollow had been able to manifest itself as an independent being and escape unnoticed by Ichigo from the confines of his inner world. For ten years, Ichigo had neither seen nor heard anything about his hollow. He could only assume that Hichigo (this is the name I will use to refer to Ichigo's inner hollow from now on) was biding his time and growing stronger as time passed. That simple assumption worried him more than any other problem and was on his mind nearly every single day. Due to Hichigo's well-known erratic nature, no one could have predicted how exactly the Ichigo look-alike would have planned. Now Hichigo's silence has come to an end and he has revealed himself in the most terrifying way possible, by destroying Karakura Town in his vasto lorde form. With a single super-powered crimson red cero, Karakura Town was wiped off the map with his mad laugh. Tens of thousands of people died, including Ichigo's entire remaining family, most of his human friends, the two children Kisuke had working at his shop (Jinta and Ururu), Zennosuke, most of the vizards, and Chad. Orihime, Uryu, Kisuke, Yoruichi, Tessai, Shinji, Kensei, and Hachigen were the only people that Ichigo knew that had somehow managed to survive. Horrified at the tragic event, Ichigo and Rukia immediately went to the human world, only to discover that Hichigo was already gone. They could only look on in disbelief and despair at the shattered and burnt remains of what used to be Ichigo's home. Suffice to say, Ichigo was feeling a mixture of despair, horror, uselessness, and pure rage. He demanded to know where Hichigo had gone and he wanted to make the bastard pay. Though no one knew where he was at the moment, it soon became evident. Ukitake contacted Rukia a half hour later while the she and Ichigo were searching for his hollow look-alike. The news literally could not have been worse. Soul Society was literally falling apart. A huge spiritual earthquake had rent the entire Soul Society and the surrounding areas asunder. Except for the captains, lieutenants, and a few of the stronger lower-seated officers, nearly everybody in the Soul Society had been killed. Not only that, but the entire Spiritual had begun to deteriorate. They also received reports that the same thing happened in Hueco Mundo and that it was deteriorating as well. Even worse, the boundary between the Human world and the Spiritual Realm was beginning to crumble as well. Regular humans were now able to see wandering souls, Hollows, and Soul Reapers. When asked how this phenomenon was possible, Ukitake sadly told them that it could only mean one thing: the Royal Guard had been decimated and the Spirit King had been murdered.

Before the shock could even completely hit them, Hichigo reappeared in front of them, laughing maniacally. Alongside him were seven impossibly powerful arrancars. Behind the eight of them was an army of thousands of Hollows and weaker arrancars, all of which were at least at the level of adjuchas. The total number of enemies would have been too vast to even count. Hichigo laughed as he explained all that he had done. First, he had gathered enough power over the years to be able to completely decimate Karakura Town in order to create the Oken. By using the Oken, he unlocked the portal to the Spirit King, easily destroyed the Royal Guard, and killed the Soul King. He ad two reason for doing this. The first was to watch Ichigo suffer as most of the people he cared about were killed in the initial destruction and the second was to release the seven super-powerful arrancar that were with him. He explained that they were the very first vasto lorde arrancars ever born and that they had been sealed away long ago by Head Captain Yamamoto. His death had merely weakened the powerful seal. Only a truly cataclysmic event could free them, such as the death of the Soul King. The seven original arrancars furthered explained that, while Aizen's former Espada represented aspects of death, they represented the very existence of the seven deadly sins. Two female arrancar represented Lust and Envy, while five male arrancar represented Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, and Pride. As explainations were under way, the surviving members of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads arrived, ready for battle. Ukitake told Ichigo and Rukia that since the Spirit King fell, the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo no longer existed. It was now unkown where good souls went after life, while it was assumed that bad souls still went to Hell.

Now the final battle began. Ichigo, quickly releasing his bankai (in this story Ichigo's bankai will look like it did when he faced Aizen for the final time after training in the Dangai), obviously faced of against his hollow self. Ukitake, Soifon, Byakuya, Kyoraku, Toshiro, Kenpachi, and Starrk battled it out with the seven original arrancar. Some of Lilynette's powers had been transferred to Starrk's blade so he was able to still use his resurrection form. Meanwhile the other Captains and all the lieutenants attempted to stem the tide of the massive Hollow/arrancar army. Unohana and the few remaining Squad Four members had their hands full trying to heal any wounded fighters. Soon after the battles started, Urahara, Yoruichi, Tessai, Shinji, Kensei, and Hachigen showed up to help as well. Unfortunately, the battles were still going very badly for the good side. The seven original arrancars were still just toying around with the Captains while they used bankai, Hichigo had powered up to unimaginable heights, and the army seemed endless in their numbers. Even worse, Kensei, Grimmjow, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, and about half of the lieutenants had already died. However, hope seemed to shine as Ichigo managed to gain the upper hand in his battle against Hichigo. Enraged at the possibility of actually being beaten, Hichigo transformed into a monstrous new winged form (use your imaginations here people). His power exploded to new heights and he easily began to kick Ichigo's ass. Just as Hichigo was about to deliver the killing blow with a massive cero, Rukia pushed Ichigo out of the way and took the hit for him. She was instantly atomized. Wild with fury from the death of the person he loved, Ichigo was forced to use drastic measures. So, for the second and final time, Ichigo unleashed his ultimate and most desperate attack, the Final Getsuga Tenshou. Taking the form of the Getsuga again, Ichigo used Mugetsu to finish Hichigo. Sadly, like Aizen, the move was not quite fatal and Hichigo began to regenerate. Unwilling to let the bastard walk away from the battle alive, Ichigo gambled his life on the battle... literally. In order to maintain the Final Getsuga Tenshou for an even longer period of time, Ichigo was forced to pour his life force into the form. His gamble paid off. As Hichigo fired his ultimate cero, Ichigo used the new attack he gained from adding in his life force to the Final Getsuga Tenshou, the Mangetsu Kuchikikan (translated as Full Moon Destroyer). Launching an enormous black tidal wave of pure spiritual energy from his body, Ichigo was able to push back Hichigo's cero and completely wipe the hollow copy-cat from the face of the earth, along with a small chunk of the opposing army. That attack, unfortunately caused Ichigo's life to run out before his body even hit the ground. Realizing that they did not stand a chance of killing the original seven arrancar, Ukitake made a hard decision. With Kisuke's, Shinji's and Tessai's help, the Soul Reaper captains combined their energy together to recreate another seal for the seven deadly arrancar. Sacrificing their lives to forge the seal, the captains, Shinji, and Tessai succeeded in locking away the terrifying original arrancar away. With their bosses defeated, the remainder of the hollow/arrancar fled and were scattered across the world.

Though they had been victorious, the Soul Reapers and their allies had suffered greatly. Soul Society was gone, their captains and almost every other Soul Reaper had been killed, they and the hollows were now visible to humans, and the Spirit King was now dead. The only surving members were Shuhei Hisagi, Izuru Kira, Momo Hinamori, and Hachigen Ushoda along with a couple hundred no-name Soul Reapers. Tia Harribel's, Coyote Starrk's, and Yoruichi Shihoin's bodies were never found. Kisuke Urahara was injured spiritually and physically beyond repair. He and everyone else knew that he would eventually die within the next couple of years. The battle was over and had affected the entire human world. Almost everyone had seen the battle somehow and it was estimated that technology would be set back at least fifteen to twenty years.

One hundred years later, humans and soul reapers live side-by-side. Hollows and a few arrancars still roam the planet, devouring souls and any living people unfortunate enough to meet them. Technology has yet to progress due to Hollow interferance and normal weapons do not even affect the Hollows in the slightest. Soul Reapers have taken up their duty once again to protect the humans of the earth. However, darkness looms on the horizon and the fate of the world will be left up to the newest generation of Soul Reapers from an ancient legend, the Soul Survivors.

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><p>Well, there is the set up for this story. Tragedy has upturned everything you once new and changed the entire game. Find out who exactly the Soul Survivors are in the upcoming chapters. Stay tuned.<p>

**IMPORTANT NOTE! I HAVE MOST OF THE CHARACTERS READY BUT I AM LOOKING FOR OCs! THAT'S RIGHT, THIS STORY IS TAKING ALL THOSE CHARACTERS YOU THE READER HAVE MADE UP. PLEASE TELL ME THE NAME OF YOUR OC, THEIR RACE, A DESCRIPTION OF THEM, THEIR ZANPAKUTO (OR OTHER WEAPONS), A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THEM (THIS INCLUDES HISTORY, PERSONALITY, GOOD/BAD GUY, ETC.), FAMILY (IF APPLICABLE), AND ANY OTHER DETAILS YOU CAN THINK OF (SUCH AS KIDO PROFFICIENCY AND AGE). THE CREATORS OF ANY USED OCs WILL BE GIVEN CREDIT AT THE BEGINNING AND END OF EACH CHAPTER. THANKS!**

Also, anyone who wishes to use this prologue as a set up for one of their stories is free to do so. Just please ask first :)


	2. Diamond in the Rough

Soul Survivors

Okay, first and foremost, I will give many thanks to the people who gave me their OCs. Black Cat Angel and Raimaru13 will have their characters featured in this episode while Mareo and Anime will have one of his characters featured soon in later chapters and the other will be briefly seen in this chapter, but will play a larger role later. Thank you all so much. There is still many chances for peoples OCs to be included, though, so please keep them coming! Anyways, on with the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or the characters. Any OC characters borrowed will be specifically mentioned at the end. Any other characters and the plot belong to me.

Chapter 1: Diamond in the Rough

Soul Reapers had taken up their role as guardians over the humans. Their duties were pretty much the same as before, only now they lived among humans as well and could be seen by them. Also, the Soul Reapers now acted as guides when humans traveled from city to city. It had become their primary job with all the hollows running wild. However, coming to the human world had divulged some disturbing new information: normal humans also had spirit energy.

When this little fact was first discovered, Soul Reapers were eager to teach what they knew to humans. They were glad that the humans would be able to protect themselves from hollows. Unfortunately, after some more research, the Soul Reapers stopped teaching humans how to use spirit energy and any who knew how to use the energy disappeared. The entire event was kept hidden and now-a-days, almost every human knew nothing about the event. Only the Soul Reapers and a few humans knew the truth.

What terrifying new information had caused the Soul Reapers to stop? The answer was that there had been humans-turned-Soul-Reapers before, aside from just Ichigo. Among these individuals included Kisuke Urahara, Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Sosuke Aizen, and even the Spirit King. Yes, some of the most prominent figures in Soul Reaper history had originally been human. Realizing just how much power humans could potentially have, the Soul Reapers decided to try and hide it. They just could not afford another Aizen or Hichigo event occuring.

But with most major secrets trying to be kept hidden, there are always some people who know of it who should not. Ninety-nine percent of humanity is completely oblivious and are just thankful to the Soul Reapers. However, it is the one percent of humanity that does know that scares the Soul Reapers the most. Not only that, but there are some Soul Reapers who do not agree with the rest and believe humans should be allowed to learn to use their spirit energy. Have the Soul Reapers managed to stop an uprising? Or have they mistakenly caused such an incident?

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><p>Being one of the elder Soul Reapers and also one of a few from the seated spots of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads to survive, Shuhei Hisagi was forced to take a leadership role after the Hichigo incident. He plays an active role in helping out humans. Right now, he and three other men are guiding a caravan of humans en route to a city about twenty miles away. Due to the danger of hollows, cars are no longer used, so they are forced to walk the entire distance.<p>

Shuhei glanced back at the humans and sighed. He longed for the days of old, back when the Soul Society still existed, the humans could see and did not worry about hollows, and when all of his friends and comrades were still alive. For many years, Shuhei and his surviving comrades had hated the fact that they had kept their lives while so many of their comrades had died. However, they did not have time to mope and were forced to reunite the remaining Soul Reapers in order to help the humans survive in this new world.

Normally Shuhei did not mind aiding the humans in traveling. In fact, he sometimes enjoyed talking with them. It was a nice break from all of his depressing thoughts and hollow battles. However, today was different. One of the humans, a kid that looked to be about eighteen or nineteen with neck-length, shaggy violet hair and gold eyes, had decided to strike up a conversation with him.

"So you are the famous Shuhei Hisagi, eh?" asked the kid.

Shuhei looked at the boy and frowned. _How does he know my name?_ wondered Shuhei. Though he was one of the eldest Soul Reapers still alive, this had been the first human to have known his name before meeting him. Shuhei answered the question with a cautious "yes."

The boy grinned in return. "Also the reluctant wielder of the death-bringing Zanpakuto, Kazeshini and the slayer of Kaname Tosen." His smile seemed to grow a little. "You abhor killing, yet you are a hollow-slaying Soul Reaper and wields one of the Zanpakuto that best depicts the stereotypical image of a Reaper of Souls." The kid shook his heaad in wonder. "You, my good sir, are a walking contradiction."

Shuhei literally stopped in his tracks during the kid's little analysis of him. No human should know about any of what he just said, especially the part about him killing Tosen. What shocked him even more, is the fact that the kid had correctly psycho-analyzed him. _Could this kid possibly be one of the few humans left that know?_ From appearances alone, the kid did not seem out of the ordinary. He was wearing black shorts with silver streaks, a midnight blue t-shirt and a black leather jacket along with black and red tennis shoes. Now on guard, Shuhei questioned the kid. "Just who the hell are you?"

"I wonder," commented the kid, his grin never leaving his face, "since a Zanpakuto is a reflection of the user's soul, and your's takes the form of weapon made to reap the lives of the enemies, then what are you really like on the inside?"

_That definately confirms it!_ thought a stunned Shuhei as he reached towards his blade. _This kid must be one of the very few humans who knows about Soul Reapers and Spirit Energy._ Before Shuhei could react to this little revelation, a loud shriek was heard not-too-far-away.

"Hisagi!" said one of the Soul Reapers. "Hollows are approaching fast behind us." The man took a minute to detect their numbers. His eyes widened in surprise. "Sir, there are about fifteen regular hollows, but there are being led by a massive reiatsu! It's an arrancar!"

Shuhei cursed under his breath, both for his ignorance and the kid's shocking statements. His attention had been completely focused on the kid, while hollows had been able to get near them without his detecting them. _And now even an arrancar has come?_ thought Shuhei. He started to bark out orders. "Men, stay near the humans! Do not let a single hollow get anywhere close to them. I will go and handle the arrancar." Taking one last look at the grinning kid, Shuhei took off towards the location of the large reiatsu.

The arrancar was waiting for him close by. Shuhei stopped to examine his opponent. The enemy he was facing was a mid-height, female arrancar with chest-length brown hair tied up into a ponytail that appeared to be about nineteen. Strangely, her hollow hole was located in the exact spot where her nose should have been. The remains of her hollow mask was a kite-shaped cap over the hole on her face with with a band following her cheekbones up over her eyes, following the contours of her eye socket. She wore a white, long-sleeved Arrancar coat-tailed jacket that reaches her knees with a white, sleeveless top underneath it. Around her stomach were white bandages that wrapped around her. Tight, white trousers and thick, high-heeled black boots covered the lower half of her body. On her head, she wore a white tricorn hat with blue trim.

The arrancar was also letting her spiritual pressure out for Shuhei to feel and see. It was a silvery-blue color and Shuhei could sense power just rippling off of her. Her power was massive and she had not even released yet. If the Espada were still around, she would have easily made it into their ranks. _This is not going to be an easy fight_ thought Shuhei as he withdraw his blade from its sheathe. "What do you want, arrancar?" asked Shuhei cautiously.

Instead of answering, the arrancar just smirked and drew her Zanpakuto from its scabbard on her waist. The blade was revealed to be a long flamberge that resembled her spiritual pressure in terms of color. "Dryphus Lusen" was all she said. Upon seeing Shuhei's confused look, she frowned. "It's my name. I always tell my name to my opponents before I fight. Is that not common courtesy?"

Shuhei was surprised to hear that an arrancar would have an honor code that they followed, but nonetheless followed suit. "My name is Shuhei Hisagi, former lieutenant of Squad 9 of the Thirteen Court Squads." The arrancar's smirk returned.

"Well then, Shuhei Hisagi, let's not waste any more time with introductions" stated Dryphus as she launched a silver cero outline in a light blue. Shuhei managed to narrowly dodge the fast and unexpected mass of energy aimed at him. Before he could retaliate, Shuhei was forced into a defensive stance as Dryphus quickly launched a flurry of attacks with her sword. Shuhei quickly realized that Dryphus's specialty was her swordsmanship. It seemed she was a master in the use of a flamberge.

After the flurry of attacks, both combatants backed away from each other. Shuhei had managed to block or dodge all of the strikes and Dryphus seemed impressed. "You are really quite experienced, aren't you?" questioned Dryphus. "I'm surprised you managed to come out of my Sen Nageyari (Thousand Javelin) attack unscathed." She sighed. "It's just too bad we I can't continue fighting you and see how strong you really are."

Shuhei didn't even have time to question what she meant by that last statement. All he heard was someone chant, "Bakudo #21, Sekienton (Red Smoke Flight)!" The next thing Shuhei knew, he was blinded by red smoke and could no longer sense anyone's spiritual pressure. Finally, after the smoke cleared, Shuhei was able to analyze the situation. Apparently, his men had been able to defeat all the hollows just before they too had been hit by the kido smoke cloud. Also, not only had the arrancar seemingly vanished, but the strange kid had disappeared as well.

All the Soul Reapers except Shuhei worried about what happened to the kid. They asked questions like "Did the hollows manage to get him?" "Did he try and run away?" or even "Did the arrancar kidnap him?" They also questioned each other on who the idiot was that set off smoke bomb kido. Nobody admitted to having done it. Only Shuhei suspected what the truth was. He believed the kid had somehow used kido and then escaped. He even suspected that the kid was in league with the arrancar, and that suspicion alone sent chills up his spine. The only proof he had was the short conversation he had had with the kid. Though it was suspicious, none of the other Soul Reapers put much belief in Shuhei's theory. It was just too bizarre and unrealistic.

However, unbeknownst to all but Shuhei, a voice had whispered in his ear just after the kido had been set off. It said, "Don't worry, Shuhei Hisagi, you aren't the only one who fears the power of his own Zanpakuto. Before this smoke blows away, I just want to say that I only have the utmost respect for you and the path you have chosen to walk. Take care and don't die." The voice had baffled Shuhei and tormented his thoughts. Shuhei would have sworn on his honor as a Soul Reaper that the voice had belonged to the kid.

* * *

><p>Dryphus Lusen was starting to get annoyed with her companion. Even though they both looked to be roughly the same age, she had been alive for fourteen-hundred years! And now she was being carried through the air bridal-style by this boy who had not even reached a century of his real age! It was insulting and embarrassing. The worse part was, she couldn't even do anything about or risk alerting the Soul Reapers they had just left.<p>

_And that's another thing!_ thought Dryphus as her anger began to rise. _This little side trip was completely unnecessary and stupid! Yet we just _**had**_ to do it just because dumbass here wanted to meet the "legendary" Shuhei Hisagi! Though I have to admit, that Soul Reaper was not too bad of a fighter..._

The "dumbass" in question was none other than the same boy who had chatted with Shuhei and then mysteriously disappeared. His real name was Damian, but he rarely ever used it or answered to it. Instead, he always told anyone, including Dryphus, to just call him Edge. However, not even Dryphus knew his last name. She often suspected that Edge didn't even know his own last name.

Her temper already rising, Dryphus was even getting pissed off at Edge's silence. When they were finally far enough away from the Soul Reapers, Edge landed in a wooded clearing and set Dryphus down. She immediately punched in the arm and he feigned being hurt. "So how was your little meeting with the "great and powerful" Shuhei Hisagi? Dryphus asked bitterly.

Edge just looked at her in amusement, a small smirk starting to form at the corners of his lips. "If you really must know, it was going well until someone interrupted us and cut it short" he stated accusingly.

Dryphus's anger continued to rise after that statement. "Oh, well pardon me for following the plan exactly like you said. Next time, I'll just leave all the Soul Reapers for you to fight your way out of!" she yelled angrily.

Edge just chuckled and looked her in the eye. "Aww, you really are pretty cute when you're angry, you know that?" He laughed as his eyes traveled downwards a little bit. "And maybe if you actually had boobs instead of pecs, I might even call you hot."

A vein popped on Dryphus's forehead as her anger finally exploded. This time she really slugged him hard, and in the jaw. Edge was flung backwards into a tree. "I told you already not to make fun of me for that" growled Dryphus. However, her anger quickly faded as she realized Edge no longer had his smirk on. Now, he was completely serious. She sighed as she recognized Edge's aggravating habit of immediately switching from his joking, playful side to his much more serious mood. Edge hadn't moved from the spot where he landed and was now sitting with his back against the tree

"I really am sorry for making you do this my friend" he whispered in a completely emotionless voice. "I know how you hate gaining control of and commanding hollows, but it was the easiest way for this little detour to be successful." He paused before continuing. "I also know we have a mission to finish and that we have to hurry."

Dryphus sat next to him against the tree. "Eh, don't worry about it" muttered a now calm Dryphus. "I just want to know why this was so important to you."

Edge sighed. "My father had told me all about the Soul Society and about many of its members." Dryphus looked at him in surprise. Edge had never talked about any of his family before this, let alone his parents. "As you know, I try to avoid using my Zanpakuto as much as possible because I fear its power." The arrancar knew what Edge had just said was very true. If he could help it, Edge would refrain from battling with his this point Edge drew the sword from its sheath and looked at it. They both observed the seemingly normal katana. The only significant aspect was the hilt. It resembled to dragon's wings curling around the blade. "My father told me that Shuhei was much the same. Shuhei feared his Zanpakuto's strength and hated the fact that it looked like a weapon made to reap lives." Edge resheathed the blade. "That is why I had to meet him. I had to see for myself if it was true."

"And what did you find out?"

Edge surprisingly gave a small smile. "I was happy to find the rumor to be true."

Dryphus then stood up and offered to help Edge up as well. He gladly took her hand. The two of them then started walking through the woods. "I think I understand now, but we have to hurry if we are going to make it in time."

Edge sighed again. "I know. That boy is in danger and we are going to need his help to make it through the events to come. If I am not in time, I will meet up with you shortly. If I am in time, then execute phase two of the plan in exactly one month from now at our little hideout."

"Yes, sir" answered a sarcastic Dryphus. Then she sighed. "You know I really hate playing the hero role, right?"

Edge laughed. "I know, but sometimes destiny throws you a curve ball and you end up doing something you never pictured yourself even attempting."

Dryphus just gave him an aggravated look. "Oh shut up. You and I both know for a fact that you love any chance you get to play the hero."

Edge laughed in response. "I know." With that said and the plan determined, Edge used flash step to go one direction while Dryphus used Sonido to head in a different direction.

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><p>Ryusuke Diamondblade was walking towards the edge of the city, hoping to find some Soul Reaper who would be willing to act as his guide when he traveled to the next city. Any normal human walking down the street who saw Ryusuke think the kid to be strange. He looked to be about sixteen years old, is tan-skinned, fairly short, and had mid-length, snow white hair tied up into a ponytail with one bang covering one of his teal eyes. His clothing consists of dark brown cargo pants, a steel gray sleaveless shirt, and a silver sash belt. The strange thing about him was the straw hat he always wore and the pair of silver rings he wears on each thumb. No one really knows who he is, mostly because he never stays long enough in one city or town to make friends and because he is a rather distant person. He is also a hard worker who willingly takes on any job to earn money and is surprisingly stonger than his slender form appears.<p>

However, if anyone able to detect Spirit Energy were to see him, they would sense that a great power lurks inside of him. Ryusuke doesn't know about his power, but he has some idea that he is not normal. For instance, he seems to age at a completely different rate than regular humans. In the past seventy years that he has been on his own, Ryusuke has only aged about six years in appearance. He also has amnesia of any events of his life that took place before he met his temporary guardian and caretaker, Mr. Urahara.

His earliest memories are that of waking up in a strange room within some kind of candy store run by a sickly and strange man named Kisuke Urahara. The shop was one of the few places that had barely survived the Hichigo incident. That was about eighty years ago. For ten years, Ryusuke worked for Mr. Urahara, earning his stay at the shop. Ryusuke would often ask Mr. Urahara about his past or where he came from, but would often receive a "wait until you're older" speech. It aggravated him, but he enjoyed working at the Urahara Shop.

Sadly, that ended seventy years ago on the died that Kisuke Urahara finally died. He was already very sick when Ryusuke met him and it was amazing that he had lasted another ten years, but finally he passed on. That day had gone from bad to worse. Ryusuke felt a chill from a stray wind run down his back before he went to see Mr. Urahara. Soon after Ryusuke found out Mr. Urahara had died, a kid that appeared about a couple years older than him and had frequented the shop to help out Mr. Urahara sometimes came in, terrified. He forced Ryusuke to immediately leave the shop with a few supplies. Ryusuke was told that it was for his own good and the terrified expression on the kid's face made him believe it.

Ryusuke had run the little world he had known and was forced to quickly learn about the real world. Once he had started running, he didn't stop until he was already in the next town. There, he found a newspaper that told him the shop that had been his home for the past ten years had been hit by an explosion. The newspapers blamed it on local gangs and thugs, but Ryusuke could feel that something was wrong. However, he refused to go back, and has been living on his own ever since.

Now, he was in the process of switching towns yet again. Finally reaching the outskirts of the town, he met up with a Soul Reaper who offered to go with him to the next city. The Soul Reaper called himself Roku Kumokage and was fairly tall with lightly tanned skin. The man appeared to be about twenty years of age and he had spiky black hair with dark grey eyes. His attire consisted of jeans, black shoes, and a black and white horizontally-striped long-sleeve shirt. His Zanpakuto was sheathed at his side.

The two started traveling. Roku attempted a few jokes on the way. Ryusuke smiled sometimes, but otherwise said nothing. Soon, however, Roku stopped them. "Okay kid, what's the deal?" he asked.

Ryusuke was surprised. "Huh, what do you mean?"

"Drop the act, kid" stated an impatient Roku. "And I'm not talking about the silent treatment. I mean, I can understand if you're the silent, distant type of person, but why did even bother hiring me as a guide? It's not like you need one."

Now Ryusuke was confused as well. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Roku opened his mouth to respond, but shut it as an idea flashed in his head. _He is obviously a Soul Reaper. Could he seriously not know of the power inside him?_ thought Roku. _He seems distant and looks like he has traveled a lot. That means he is either hiding it, or he doesn't know about but circumstances have raised his suspicions. Judging from his reactions, I would be willing to bet on the latter rather than the former._ The more he thought about it, the more plausible the idea seemed, so he switched topics to see if he was right. "Have you noticed anything strange about yourself, kid?"

Ryusuke was thrown off by the change in topic, but finally answered this question with a straight answer since this guy Roku seemed to know what was going on. "Well, I have noticed that, for some reason, I age at an incredibly slower rate than humans." He looked in Roku's eyes. "Do you know why that is?"

_That answers any of my questions. He only has the slightest hint as to what he really is, a Soul Reaper!_ thought Roku. _The only question is, should I tell him? What if there was a reason this knowledge was kept from him? _Before Roku could make a decision, however, he noticed Ryusuke stiffen suddenly. "What's wrong?"

Ryusuke's eyes were wide. "Something is terribly wrong. I can feel it in the wind. It is just like that one time..." he whispered. Roku just looked at him in confusion. Ryusuke explained "Sometimes, when trouble is about to happen, I can sort of feel it in the wind. It's as if the wind is telling me to run away. The worse the situation is, the stronger the feeling is." Ryusuke shuddered. "And right now, I don't think we even have a chance of escaping."

That was when Roku felt the gigantic spiritual pressure coming towards them. His eyes widened as he recognized the pressure. It had been one hundred years, but Roku could never forget that day, the day when Hichigo released all hell upon the earth and Roku had suffered the greatest shame he would ever bear at the hands of this very same spiritual pressure. Trembling, Roku drew his sword in preparation for the upcoming fight.

The arrancar showed himself a few seconds later. Ryusuke was surprised at the appearance of him. He had expected a young, muscle-bound piece of meat to have come. Instead, the arrancar that was giving off the massive reiatsu looked to be about sixty or seventy years old. He was frail, had ghostly white skin, and had long, pale gray hair going down to his lower-back with pale green eyes. In many ways, he was very similar to the infamous Baraggan Luisenbarn. This arrancar evensat on a throne and his hollow remains were a crown while his hollow hole was located in his sternum. However, his crown was shaped like a biohazard symbol and his legs were bound to his throne with bandages.

The arrancar looked directly at Ryusuke. "Well, well" he said in a grave and lazy tone, "I finally managed to find you."

"Why would you be looking for me?"

The arrancar chuckled. "Why, for your power of course." He stared straight at Ryusuke. "I find that power inside of you insteresting and possibly useful for our cause. In other words, I am giving you a choice. Rather than kill you where you stand, I would like for you to come with me. I will unlock your powers and you will serve me in return. If you choose not to come, well, you know what will happen." It was obvious from his tone of voice that the arrancar's threat was not idle.

Instead of being afraid, Ryusuke felt a sudden burst of anger well up inside of him. "Why is everyone telling me that I wield some great power?" he asked angrily. "That's how it has been whenever I travel with a Soul Reaper. They always comment on that. Well, sorry to tell you all, but it's not true. I am just a normal human being who happens to have a growing disorder, that's it." Ryusuke stared right back at Bellce. "And just who the fuck are you anyways? What is this cause that you mentioned? And why the hell would you need me anyways?"

"His name is Bellce Mosqa" stated Roku through clenched teeth as he stared at the arrancar in anger. "He is the lone fraccion member of the Original Arrancar who was the embodiment of Gluttony." Ryusuke gasped as he let this little tidbit sink in. Mr. Urahara had told him many of the Soul Reaper lore, especially about the battle with Hichigo and the seven Original Arrancar. "In regards to your latter questions, his "cause" is nothing less than trying to release his master and the other six Original Arrancar by breaking the seal. I have also heard rumors that he and the other fraccion have been gathering willing Soul Reapers to join their cause as well with promises of power. The rumor alone is distubing enough, but to find it to be true..." Roku shook his head. "Anyways, as for your first question, we have only been pointing out the truth. You do have an incredible power within you." Ryusuke opened his mouth to argue, but Roku continued on. "And before you argue, ask yourself this: why is his spiritual pressure not crushing you as we speak?

Bellce chuckled again. "What a very thorough explanation, Roku Kumokage." Roku immediately turned back to face the arrancar after hearing this. He was thoroughly shocked that Bellce seemed to recognize him. "Oh yes, Soul Reaper, I remember you very well. Why would someone with so much potential like Ryusuke hire someone as sad and pathetic as you to protect him?" asked Bellce cruelly.

"Damn it, I'm a different man now than I was back then!" shouted Roku. It was clearly a sore subject, but Ryusuke still had to ask the question.

"What is he talking about, Roku?"

Roku sighed. "I have met this particular arrancar once before in my life." The Soul Reaper had a distant look in his eyes as he recounted the event. "I had recently obtained a seated spot in Thirteen Court Guard Squads under the famous Captain Ichigo Kurosaki. Being able to fight under such a great man was the proudest moment of my life. Then, on one of my first assignments, I was out in the human world hunting down a hollow outside of Karakura Town. That was when Hichigo struck. After I killed the hollow, I ran back towards Karakura Town because I could sense something was wrong. However, when I got back, the town had already been pretty much annihilated. Panicking, I tried to go back to the Soul Society and recieve some orders and information about what was going on, but the Senakimon wouldn't open. That was when I realized that the _entire_ Thirteen Court Guard Squads were in the human world and that they were about to fight Hichigo and the enormous army of hollows and arrancars. I even glimpsed my Captain beginning his fight with his evil side. It was also when _he_ showed up, Bellce Mosqa. He merely scoffed at the sight of me and said I wasn't worth his time. If I wasn't so petrified with fear, I may have attacked him in anger then. Instead of just killing me, he gave me a choice: I could either fight and die trying or run and possibly live. Instinct and fear took me over then and I fled from the battlefield as fast as I could. I beat myself up over my act of cowardice for years after the battle ended. Because of that event, I swore to myself that I would never run from a batlle ever again, not matter how tough the odds were against me." He looked directly at Ryusuke. "Don't worry, I won't run this time and I will do everything that's within my power to stop him from getting you."

"Roku..." whispered Ryusuke, impassioned by the man's speech.

"I just need you to do one thing for me, Ryusuke." Ryusuke nodded. "Please, run away as fast as you can and as far as you can go. Find some Soul Reapers and tell them what happened. You won't have much time I'm afraid. This bastard's power still overshadows mine. It was nice knowing you." Before Ryusuke could object, Roku released his Zanpakuto and charged the old arrancar.

"Find your prey, Shuryo Kumo (Hunting Spider)!" Roku shouted as he held the sword sideways in front of him.

Roku's dark brown reiatsu was evident as the sword transformed into a double-bladed, dark brown gauntlet on his right arm. There was a blade above and below his hand. The Soul Reaper easily closed the distance between him and his enemy and slashed at Bellce. The arrancar didn't even move as he was slashed across the chest. He didn't need to. The bladed gauntlet didn't even leave a scratch.

"Ha" laughed Bellce, "your Shikai isn't even strong enough to penetrate my incredible hierro! My skin is ver more durable than that foll Nnoitra Gilga 's could ever have been!"

"Kumo no su Mayo (Spiderweb Cocoon)!" shouted Roku as he rapidly slashed at the arrancar. The entire time Bellce did not move or react. However, the arrancar began to notice some threads beginning to stick to his body. As Roku leaped away from having finished his attack. Bellce realized he was not able to move any part of his body. His throne was even tied down to the ground by the sticky threads.

"Finding it hard to move?" questioned Roku with a smirk. "That is my Zanpakuto's special ability at work. Whenever I slash at something with Shuryo Kumo, it releases a spiritual thread that resembles spider silk. Since you were arrogant enough to think that my attack couldn't hurt you, it gave me time to envelop you in the threads and turn you into one... big... target." As Roku said this, he leaped high into the air. His gauntlet began to glow with a strange, purplish energy. "That technique is to capture the enemy so I can use this!" He dove at Bellce with the gauntlet out in front of him. "Dokueki Yari (Venom Spear)!" he shouted as he hurtled towards the immobile arrancar.

"Fool" was all Bellce muttered before he counterattacked with his cero. The energy charged in front of his open mouth, then split into ten miniature ceros. Roku could not avoid the attack as he was hit with four of the deadly energy beams. Even worse, Bellce's ceros had freed him from the thread.

Just before he was hit by the attack, Roku turned his head to look at Ryusuke and yelled out "Run!" However, Ryusuke was not going anywhere as his fear and a horrid sort of fascination held him in place. Roku hit the ground hard about ten feet in front of Ryusuke, who ran to the Soul Reaper to help him up.

Roku coughed up some blood. "Damn it kid, you should have ran when you had the chance" he muttered.

"I couldn't just leave you to die" responded Ryusuke.

"Aww, look at how sweet that is" laughed Bellce. I almost feel bad having to break up this little moment between you two, but this just makes it quicker to kill the both of you." Bellce got ready to launch his cero, this time as just one big beam.

However, Ryusuke's next words made him pause for a second. "Stop! If you let Roku live, I'll follow you and do whatever you say. Please just don't kill him." Bellce could tell that Ryusuke was dead serious.

"Sadly, I'm afraid the time for negotiations has passed" responded Bellce. "You had your chance to end this peacefully earlier, but you didn't take it. So now, both your deaths will be on your hands, Ryusuke." Bellce fired his pale green death ray at the two as they both braced themselves for the imminent attack.

"Bakudo #81, Danku (Severing Void)!" A rectangular energy barrier formed itself between the cero and the two targets and was struck by the ray of energy. As the energy began to crack under the pressure, Ryusuke and Roku felt someone grab the two of them and take them out of harm's way. The cero soon burst through the broken energy wall only to no longer have a target.

Bellce frowned as the newcomer set the two would-be victims down on the ground. "And just who are you supposed to be?" questioned the arrancar.

"You can just call me Edge" said a familiar smirking teen.

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><p>Well, I think I will just end the chapter right there at a cliffhanger! Sorry about that, it just felt right. Next chapter you will read how the fight between Edge and Bellce goes. Also, sorry for the long wait in updates. I was almost finished typing this chapter when my laptop decided to freak out and randomly log me off of Fanfiction, so I had to re-type this whole thing. Sorry! Anyways, <strong>I am still taking OCs for this story!<strong> Even if you don't want to submit a character please click that little button down there and leave a review :) Until next time!

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><p><strong>OCs from other authors:<strong>

Dryphus Lusen belongs to Mareo and Anime

Ryusuke Diamondblade belongs to Black Cat Angel

Roku Kumokage and Bellce Mosqa both belong to Raimaru13

Thank you all for your contributions!


	3. Swarm of Locusts

Soul Survivors

Well people, here is the next chapter. The full fight between the mysterious Edge and the terrifying Bellce Mosqa will take place. No new characters will show themselves in this chapter, but I would like to formally thank everyone who has submitted any character(s). It is very much appreciated and I will try to fit in as many submitted characters as I can. Anyways, enough of my blabbering and on with the story.

Chapter 2: Swarm of Locusts

_"Sadly, I'm afraid the time for negotiations has passed" responded Bellce. "You had your chance to end this peacefully earlier, but you didn't take it. So now, both your deaths will be on your hands, Ryusuke." Bellce fired his pale green death ray at the two as they both braced themselves for the imminent attack._

_"Bakudo #81, Danku (Severing Void)!" A rectangular energy barrier formed itself between the cero and the two targets and was struck by the ray of energy. As the energy began to crack under the pressure, Ryusuke and Roku felt someone grab the two of them and take them out of harm's way. The cero soon burst through the broken energy wall only to no longer have a target._

_Bellce frowned as the newcomer set the two would-be victims down on the ground. "And just who are you supposed to be?" questioned the arrancar._

_"You can just call me Edge" said a familiar smirking teen._

Ryusuke looked at the person who had saved them. The man called Edge appearanced to be just a little bit older than Ryusuke. He wore black and red shorts with black shoes. An open black leather jacket partially covered a midnight blue sleeveless underneath. Standing at about six feet and a couple inches, Edge seemed to exude power from his body. Even Ryusuke could tell this would be a dangerous man to fight. He then looked at Roku, who had passed out from his skirmish with Bellce, and felt guilty. He believed it to be his fault that the Soul Reaper was injured.

"Why are you here?" demanded Bellce, never taking his eyes off the newcomer.

Edge smiled. "Just a traveler passing on by. I saw two people in trouble and decided to help them out a bit" he explained. "They looked like they were really having a tough time, so I just thought I would offer them a helping hane."

Bellce could easily tell that this man was much more than he appeared. Like Ryusuke had thought, an aura of power seemed to radiate from him. _He could be a valuable addition to the cause. Yet something seems off about this guy. I doubt that he was just "passing by" like he said_ thought Bellce. "Tell you what, Mr. Edge, I am willing to cut you a deal."

Edge raised his eyebrows at that statement. "Oh, and what could you offer that would possibly interest little old me?" Bellce smirked, but was a little unnerved by the smile still on the man's face.

"I am willing to cut something of a trade with you" stated the arrancar. "Since you seem so willing to save those two, I will spare their lives if you decide to come with me and join our cause. A pretty good deal, don't you think?" Bellce smiled. "If you accept, you will not only avoid further bloodshed here, but you will also be able to acquire immeasurable power. It's a very good opportunity and I won't give you a second chance if you say no." Edge seemed to be thinking it over.

Ryusuke was horrified. _What if this stranger accepted? He already seemed powerful enough. If he got stronger and became an enemy..._ Ryusuke shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. "Please, Mr. Edge, don't-" Ryusuke was silenced by Edge putting his hand up.

"This wouldn't happen to be the same cause that is trying to reawaken the Original Arrancars and pretty much throw the entire world into chaos, would it?" asked Edge, with a knowing smile. Bellce's smile, on the other hand, fell immediately and turned into a frown. "If it is, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline." Edge chuckled. "Yeah, I got the same offer a couple weeks ago from a couple of strange Soul Reapers. I declined their offer too." Edge sighed. "Then they attacked me and my friend for no reason and we were forced to cut them down."

Bellce gave him a cold glare. "So, you are the one who killed some of our recruits three weeks ago."

"I couldn't really help it" responded Edge. "They said something about not being able to et someone as strong as me oppose them and then attacked. My friend and I fought back, purely out of self-defense." Ryusuke noticed he said all of this regretfully, yet the smirk never left his face.

What Bellce did next surprised Ryusuke. He drew his sword from the sheathe on his throne. "I see. If that is the case, then I'm afraid I cannot let you leave here alive. If you are as dangerous as I think, then you must be eliminated."

"So you are going to fight me after all?" asked Edge as he moved away from Ryusuke and Roku. "I figured it might come down to this." Ryusuke was even more shocked by what Edge did next. He literally took his sword, still encased in its sheathe and tossed it to Ryusuke. He locked eyes with the boy. "Take care of that for me, will you? This shouldn't take long." Ryusuke just gaped and nodded.

Bellce looked at him in disbelief, then annoyance. "Are you really so arrogant that you think you can kill me without using your Zanpakuto?" he demanded.

Edge shrugged. "I know for a fact that without my Zanpakuto, I won't be able to end your life. Sadly, I am not skilled enough in the use of my Zanpakuto to use it without risking injury or even death to the two I just saved." His grin grew wider. "However, if I have judged you correctly, my skills alone should be able to damage you enough that you will be forced to retreat."

Bellce actually growled a little. "You really are an arrogant little punk, you know that?"

Laughing, Edge responded, "You aren't the first to tell me that, and you certainly won't be the last." He stopped laughing. "Besides, I'm a pretty good judge of power. I also know arrancars pretty well. Taking into consideration your reiatsu and the strength you displayed in your fight a few moments ago, I can form a range of how powerful your resureccion is." Edge then formed a rod of energy in his hand that was about as long as he was tall while he continued his analysis. "If your resurreccion turns out to be closer to the top of that range, I could be in trouble during this fight. Luckily, I believe your resurreccion's power to only be about mid-level. So unless you are somehow like the infamous Yammy Riyalgo, I should be pretty good in this fight."

Finally, something had broken through Bellce cold and icy expression. Now, he was burning with rage in his eyes. "You cocky little shit!" he yelled before charging forward with his sword.

"If I'm the cocky one, then why are charging me so recklessly?" Edge just smirked and threw the energy rod towards Bellce while declaring "Bakudo #62, Hyapporankan (Hundred-Step Rail Parch)!" Bellce, intending to knock the rod away with his sword, was surprised to see the rod split into a hundred smaller rods. They all knocked into the arrancar and pushed him back, pinning him against a mountainside.

"You think these pathetic little rods will be enough to hold me?" snarled Bellce, already breaking free from some of them.

"No, I know for a fact they wouldn't." Edge bent his arm in front of him with his palm facing towards Bellce. He also noticed that Roku had just woken up and was watching the battle intesely as Ryusuke filled him in. "So let's try a couple steps higher. This also happens to be my personal favorite. Bakudo #79 Kuyo Shibari (Nine-Daylight Bonds)!" A black hole appeared above Bellce, while three appeared on each side of him vertically positioned, and yet another formed beneath him. Finally, a smaller black hole manifested on his chest.

Bellce growled in frustration. "Even this spell won't hold me for long!"

Edge sighed. "Haven't you already understood that I have a plan?" Then he smiled as he raised his arm up and thrust his hand forward, open-palmed. "Besides, it will hold you just long enough." As he rested his free hand on his outstreched arm, both Roku and Bellce gasped as they realized what Edge was about to do. "I see you recognize this kido. Let's see if you can survive it. Hado #88, Hiryugekizokushintenraiho (Flying Dragon Marring Heaven-Shaking Thunder-Sear)!" An enormous burst of electrical energy flew towards the captured Bellce, resulting in a huge explosion.

Roku and Ryusuke were stunned, but soon started to get up to go and congratulate the victorious Edge before he halted them. "Stay down!" he said urgently. "As much as I wished it would have, that blast could not defeat that arrancar. This fight is far from over." However, even Edge was surprised as a large, pale-green cero shot towards him from the epicenter of the explosion. Caught off guard, Edge could not avoid the blast and took it head on.

Ryusuke and Roku were horrified as Bellce emerged unscathed when the smoke cleared. Even worse, Bellce had obviously released his Zanpakuto and was now in his resurreccion. He appeared to be the same as before, but there were two obvious differences. One, his Zanpakuto was gone, and two, his throne had completely disappeared and was replaced by a large, spiky hornet's nest on each leg.

"Swarm, Belcebu (Beelzebub)" breathed Bellce as he emerged from the smoke. He chuckled at their terror. "I have to admit, that brat did manage to surprise me by using such a high-level kido. But, in the end, all it took was a well-placed cero from my resurreccion to put him down. Bah, and to think, he actually believed he could defeat without using his Zanpakuto. What a waste of time." He looked thoughtful. "Still, I did go through all the trouble of releasing." He looked at Ryusuke and Roku. "Oh well, I might as well have some fun killing you two now." He started to advance towards the two.

"I wouldn't count me out just yet arrancar!" Bellce turned in disbelief to see a now jacket-less Edge standing behind him, uninjured as well. While they were still wondering how Edge had managed to survive, they were even more confused to see seven white bands running along the length of Edge's right arm now that the jacket was gone.

"Impossible" stated Bellce. "There is no way you should've been able to escape that blast. Besides, I practically saw you get hit by my attack." It was obvious the arrancar was pissed. "So how the hell did you manage to evade my attack?"

Bellce wasn't the only unhappy one. Edge looked frustrated. "Damn it, that was my favorite jacket too, and you forced me to completely ruin it. If you really want to know how I dodged your cero, then I'll tell you as soon as you stop pissing and moaning like a woman on her period." Bellce looked even angrier, but reluctantly kept quiet. "There, now I will tell you. Normally I wouldn't have been able to dodge that attack, but I used a flash step technique called Utsusemi (Cicada). It allowed me to discard my jacket in the same fashion that a cicada molts in order to avoid an attack."

Strangely, Bellce laughed after hearing this. "Oh, this is just perfect after all. Now I am free to use my resurreccion to to crush you into the ground like the pest you are." The hornet's nest started to hum with energy. "Now, witness the terrifying power of Belcebu!" From the hornet's nests, hundreds of flies made of pale-green spiritual energy flew out in a huge swarm and charged towards Edge. However, Edge easily dodged the attack.

"Oh yes, your power truly is terrifying" stated Edge sarcasticly as he dodged the flies yet again. "Or it could be if your stupid flies were actually able to hit me." He dodged them again, but this time Bellce smiled.

"Whoever said that you were the target?" he responded. Too late, Edge realized that the flies had now flown straight past him and were flying towards Ryusuke and Roku.

"Shit" swore Edge as he tried to flash step next to them and get them out of the path. He soon realized that he wouldn't make it in time to save them. Bellce had tricked him into getting just far enough away from the two that he wouldn't be able to easily reach them.

Ryusuke closed his eyes as the flies drew closer. _Please just be quick_ he prayed as he shut his eyes. After a few moments of fearful anticipation, Ryusuke still didn't feel anything. However, his eyes immediately opened upon hearing an agonized scream. The sight before him was terrible. Edge had literally flash stepped into the entire swarm of flies to protect Ryusuke and Roku. His body was completely covered by the spiritual insects. All that could be heard were his screams of pain and Bellce's terrible laughter.

"That is the power of my Belcebu" explained the arrancar. "Anything that the flies come into contact with has their reiatsu painfully drained from their body, eventually sucking them dry and leaving them completely at my mercy. It is only a matter of time before your 'hero' is finished." Ryusuke began to give up hope before he saw dark patches of a different colored reiatsu start to burst through the flies. Bellce noticed it too and growled. "What now?" he asked.

Before long, the flies were scattered as the black reiatsu outlined in violet exploded. A deep frown set upon his face, Edge emerged from the center with the reiatsu surrounding him. "Allow me to show you one of my most powerful techniques, Shunko" stated Edge, the humor now long gone from his voice. Bellce's eyes widened as he recognized the hybrid technique of kido and hakudo. "Get ready for a living hell, Bellce" said Edge as he took a battle stance.

"Grrrr, why won't you stay down, damn it?" demanded Bellce. "Why do you continue fighting so hard?"

Edge gave a dry, humorless laugh. "Fighting so hard? If I recall correctly, I'm not even using my Zanpakuto in this fight. So don't flatter yourself by even beginning to think you are a worthy opponent. You're just a frail old man who should've died a long time ago."

Bellce was strangely silent now. "An old man, am I?" The flies all started started flying back to their nests. "If that's what you think of me, then I'll have to teach you better. Allow _me_ to show you my true form." He began to glow with a blinding energy. When the light died down, Bellce had changed completely. His hair had lengthened and turned black, extending to his lower-back area. His frail body was now rippling with muscles and he now appeared to be about twenty years of age. "Behold, the true power and form of Belcebu." Bellce's voice had changed to that of a young man's and he smirked whenever he talked now. "It's been a while since I last took this form. I forgot how refreshing it feels. So let me first thank you for pushing me this far. After all, it's thanks to you that I was able to switch."

Edge narrowed his eyes as he realized what happened. "Those flies, they not only stole my energy, but gave it to you, didn't they?"

Now it was Bellce's turn to laugh. "Exactly, that is the true power of my Belcebu. While my enemies get weaker, I only get stronger." He then formed his energy within his hand and turned the energy into a sword that looked similar to his Zanpakuto. "Not only does the energy make me stronger, but it gives me extra speed as well and allows me to form a sword out of it." He smirked at Edge. "I don't think it's me who should be worried now, is it?"

"Shut up" muttered Edge as he flew towards Bellce.

Even Bellce was surprised with the speed of Edge's Shunko, but he easily matched it. "I told you, I am much more powerful than I was before. Edge was far from finished, however, and increased his speed further as he disappeared from Bellce's sight and kicked him square in the back. "The hell was that?" asked a furious Bellce.

"Shunko is so much faster than any power boost you could have received" explained Edge. "Now, I will finish you with my next attack." Again he disappeared from Bellce's sight and appeared behind the arrancar. _Damn it,_ thought Bellce, _it can't end like this!_ Before Edge could deliver the final blow, the Shunko suddenly wore off and his reiatsu was no longer visible. "Fuck" said Edge. Bellce saw an opening and, grinning, took it, slashing Edge in the side with his sword before Edge flash-stepped away and held his left hand against the open wound.

Bellce was laughing victoriously. "I don't know what happened, but I am glad it did!"

Edge, clearly in pain, responded. "Before you go getting a big head and thinking it was something you did, forget it. Like with my Zanpakuto, I am not skilled enough in the use of Shunko yet so I can only use it for about thirty seconds per day."

Hearing this, Bellce laughed even harder. "That's hilarious! The two greatest weapons you have, and you aren't even skilled enough to use them!" He slapped his hand against his forehead. "And somehow you actually thought you could win this fight easily."

Edge frowned. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you, dumbass. That one instant where my Shunko failed was the only opening you were going to get. Since you failed to kill me with it, you have ensured your defeat."

"Now, now" scolded Bellce. "You shouldn't lie about such things. With that wound of yours, you won't even be able to dodge my next attack and I can assure you, it will definately be fatal." Strangely, Edge returned to his humorous self and started to laugh. Bellce frowned in confusion and anger. "Why are you still laughing? Don't you understand, you are going to die here!"

Edge wiped tears from his eyes. "It's just really amusing how stupid you are!" he laughed. "Let me ask you something before this battle comes to its conclusion. Do you know where spiritual energy is most focused in the body?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" demanded Bellce. "That doesn't even relate to this battle at all."

Then I'll take that as a no" responded Edge. "It's ok really, many beings go their whole lives without ever realizing it. The only reason I know what it is, is because my Zanpakuto and I use that focal point as a catalyst for our powers. Let me give you a hint. Since it is the focal point for any spirtual energy, every spiritual being, including both hollows and Soul Reapers alike, has it. Have you figured it out yet?" Bellce merely growled in frustration. "I guess not. Too bad, because that ignorance will prove to be your downfall." He lifted his left hand from his side and showed it to Bellce. It was covered with his blood. "The answer is the lifeline of every creature, blood. The more blood spilt, the more energy you can take from it."

"So what!" laughed Bellce. "Even if that was true, there is no way you could amass enough power to beat me even if used all the blood in your body!"

"You know something, Bellce?" asked Edge. "I'm glad your true form made you such an arrogant idiot. It just makes this battle that much easier. If you had been listening earlier, you would have noticed that I said my power uses blood as catalyst." Edge took his left hand and set it on one of the bands on his right arm. The blood that was on it seemed to flow into the band, turning it a bright crimson. "Take these bands on my arm here. They are used in much the same way that Kenpachi Zaraki's eyepatch was, they limit how much of my power I can use."

Bellce scoffed. "So what if they hold back your power? It just means I have proven to be more of a match for you then you originally thought." However, Bellce's eyes widened almost comically when Edge had ripped the scarlet band off and his spiritual pressure increased. "The hell kind of trick is this?"

"I'll share another one of my secrets with you, Bellce" said a grinning Edge. "I can only take these bands off if I mix my blood in with them. Each of them restrain approximately ten percent of my power from being used." He pointed to them. "Since I originally had seven on my arm until I ripped one off, can you guess how much of my strength I was using to fight you earlier?" He then pointed at Bellce as he said this.

"You arrogant little shit!" screamed an extremely pissed-off Bellce. "Are you really so cocky as to think you could defeat me using only thirty percent of your strength? I don't give a damn if you are at fourty percent now, I'm going to make you wish you were never born!" He charged at Edge, sword raised.

"You never learn do you?" whispered Edge. "Hado #4, Byakurai (Pale Lightning)!" A white lightning bolt shot from his finger and struck Bellce in the chest. The bolt had left a small singe mark.

Bellce stopped in his tracks, surprised at what just transpired. "You brag so much about how your power has grown only to use a level four kido against me? Ha! I guess all that talk was just a big bluff to try and scare me. You really have nothing left, do you?" Bellce advanced slowly towards Edge.

"You just keep underestimating me, don't you?" asked Edge. Instead of pointing his finger at Bellce, he had opened his hand so that his palm was now facing the arrancar. "Hado #85 Desutoroiyasufia (Destroyer Sphere)!" The singe mark on Bellce started to glow. Out of nowhere, thirty glass shards formed a small dome around Bellce.

"What the hell is this!" demanded Bellce. "Are you trying to stall for time again?"

"That is a kido I was able to invent myself" responded Edge, proudly. "Of course, in order to use it I needed to overlap it onto another kido, which is why I used Byakurai." He then looked at Bellce strangely. "And why would you think I was trying to stall for time? I said Hado, not Bakudo." He balled his hand up into a fist. The glass dome started to glow and then flooded the area inside with black flames. Now it was Bellce's turn to scream in pain. To finish things, the glass shards then crashed into Bellce all at once, causing a small explosion.

Edge turned to Ryusuke and Roku. "Now you should be able to breathe easier." He took his sword back from Ryusuke. "Thanks for holding it for me." Then he turned back towards the explosion to see Bellce stagger out of the smoke cloud. It was easy to see that the attack had been quite damaging. "Do you still want to fight?" he asked as he drew his sword. "I can now kill you with relatively little chance of harming these two, though I still would rather not take that chance."

"Fuck.. you" spat out Bellce. However, he reluctantly turned to leave but gave one last threat before using Sonido. "I will not forget this insult, you arrogant brat. Next time we meet, I will be sure to make you suffer." With that said, he vanished. After a few seconds, neither Roku nor Edge could feel his reiatsu.

* * *

><p>After the battle, Edge had helped heal Roku and Ryusuke had helped bandage up Edge's wound. Edge had denied Roku's offer to heal it with kido.<p>

"Thanks, but I'd rather let it heal on its own" said Edge. "Besides, you have to conserve your energy." Roku was still a bit worn out from his fight with Bellce.

"Anyways, thanks for showing up when you did" said Ryusuke. "If you hadn't, we might have died. But why did you let Bellce go? It's obvious you have more strength than you used, so why didn't you kill him?"

Edge chuckled. "Didn't you hear me earlier? I don't have full control of my Zanpakuto yet and I would've had to use it to actually kill him. Releasing it would have meant putting both your lives in danger if things had gotten out of hand." Ryusuke seemed satisfied with the answer, but Roku was a different story. He had been suspicious of Edge ever since the kid had first arrived.

"I wouldn't trust him just yet if I were you, Ryusuke" advised Roku. Ryusuke looked confused but Edge just raised an eyebrow. "We don't even know who this guy really is. For all we know, he could just be stringing us along. Not only that, but some things just don't add up."

"Like what?" asked Ryusuke as he turned towards Roku.

"For instance, he just somehow managed to appear right when we needed him? I'm not convinced that was just a coincidence. His timing was a little too perfect" stated Roku. "And if I recall correctly, I could've sworn I heard you say that you had analyzed Bellce's abilities during his fight with me. That means he had been watching us for a while and had waited to jump to the rescue. Isn't that right, 'Edge?' I don't believe for a second that that is your real name either." Roku glared at Roku.

In response, Edge laughed. It wasn't a stereotypical villain laugh, but rather more of a surprised one. "Congratulations, you are quite the perceptive individual" observed Edge. "You are right on both accounts. I did wait for you to finish your little skirmish with Bellce but I saved your sorry ass and my real name is not Edge." He shrugged. "If you really must know, I came here for Ryusuke."

The boy groaned. "Why does that seem to be everyone's objective today?"

Roku stepped inbetween Edge and Ryusuke. "I won't let you take him."

This seemed to interest Edge very much. "Oh, and why should the boy trust you anymore than he should trust me?" Edge smirked. "All I want to do is help him to unlock his rightful Soul Reaper powers. What he does with them is up to him, no one else. I feel he has a right to at least know what he really is. You, on the other hand, knowing full well that he is a Soul Reaper, chose to hide that fact from him."

Ryusuke looked accusingly at Roku. "Is what he said true?" Roku's silence and discomfort said it all. Stepping away from Roku, Ryusuke started to inch away from the both of them. "Look, thank you both for protecting me but I'm just going to leave. I am sick of letting other people guide my life. Everyone is always talking about what I great power I have, but I know for a fact that I don't have it!" He turned to walk away.

"Quit with the tough guy act" stated a now serious Edge. Ryusuke stopped dead in his tracks. "I mean, if you are as powerless as you say, then how far would you get on your own. Do you really think the group Bellce belongs to will just let you go now after one of their members was just humiliated? Even if you weren't the one who did it, you were the original target and you blatantly denied wanting anything to do with them. Next time one of them finds you, and believe me, they will find you, you won't be given a choice. They will simply kill you. The side on which you stand in this battle has already been chosen."

Tears were starting to well up in Ryusuke's eyes from his desparate situation. "Then what am I supposed to do," demanded Ryusuke, "just lay down and die?"

A sympathetic smile formed on Edge's face. "That choice is up to you." He offered his hand. "You can either run away and eventually die, or you can come with me and learn how to fight. I'm sorry there isn't any other way." Ryusuke had made up his mind. Wiping away the tears, he decided to stop running.

He looked directly at Edge. "Please, teach me how to fight."

"No problem" responded Edge as he looked back towards Roku. "And what will you do?"

Roku sighed. "I can't just ignore them any longer." He looked at Ryusuke. "Besides, thanks to the kid, it seems I am already involved. And maybe this way I can become strong enough to fight on equal terms with Bellce." Roku focused his attention back to Edge. "So, if it is alright with you, I would like to travel with the both of you and learn more."

Edge smiled. "The more the merrier."

"There is one more thing I would like to know before I travel with you, though" continued Roku, his sentence being directed towards Edge . "What is your real full name?"

"Yeah," piped in Ryusuke. "I have kind of been wondering that myself."

Edge seemed to have a debate inside himself on whether or not to truthfully answer the question. After a few seconds, he sighed. "I would prefer it if you called me Edge, but if you really must know, then I will tell you."

"My real name is Damian Shihoin."

* * *

><p>Aaaaand, that's a good place to end this chapter. So what did you guys think of the fight? Was it written well enough or do I need to work on the fight scenes more? Please review. Also, once again, OCs are still being taken. With that said, please stay tuned, review, and wait for the next chapter of Soul Survivors.<p> 


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